The Sustainability Paradox
How Economic Ecosystems and Institutional Quality Shape Innovation Pathways to Environmental Sustainability
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12308802 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Karen Girgis (0009-0002-4561-4834, German University in Cairo New Cairo Egypt, corresponding author), Dina Yousri (0000-0003-4506-3294, German University in Cairo New Cairo Egypt) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-27 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sustainable Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0968-0802 • E-ISSN: 1099-1719 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/sd.70890 |
| OpenAlex | W7134201574 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 54 |
Joint levers for green growth in emerging economies, specifically innovation, finance, institutional quality, and openness are widely emphasized, yet their combined environmental consequences remain insufficiently understood, particularly when potential nonlinear dynamics are taken into account. This study examines how research and development, foreign direct investment, trade openness, financial development, gross capital formation, and institutional quality shape CO 2 emissions in a panel of 20 emerging economies using generalized additive models that flexibly recover smooth marginal and interaction effects. The results reveal strongly nonlinear and regime‐dependent relationships, including an innovation‐based inverted‐U for R&D, a U‐shaped profile for FDI, and predominantly emission‐increasing trade effects, alongside complex roles for finance, capital formation, and governance. Interactions show that the environmental consequences of R&D are critically conditioned by trade and FDI. The analysis highlights that innovation is not intrinsically green; its climate impact depends on the surrounding financial, institutional, and openness architecture
Capital (architecture · Climate change · Emerging markets · Environmental quality · Openness to experience · Panel data · Quality (philosophy · Sustainability · Economic and Technological Innovation · Energy, Environment, Economic Growth · Environmental Sustainability in Business
Green technology innovation and financial development
How does technological innovation mitigate CO2 emissions in OECD countries? Heterogeneous analysis using panel quantile regression
The linkages between natural resources, human capital, globalization, economic growth, financial development, and ecological footprint
Random Forests
Economic Growth and the Environment
Institutional Quality, Bank Finance and Technological Innovation
The impact of green technological innovation and institutional quality on CO2 emissions in African countries
An assessment of the aggregated and disaggregated effects of natural resources rents on environmental sustainability in BRICS economies
Greening the E7 environment
Better, Faster, Stronger
Towards Achieving Sustainable Development
The map is not the territory
Seeing the Threat
International trade and environmental performance in top ten‐emitters countries
The Rise and Fall of the Environmental Kuznets Curve
Technological innovation and sustainable development
The race to net-zero emissions
Toward a New Conception of the Environment-Competitiveness Relationship
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |